Fluid catalytic cracking of oxygenated compounds

Abstract

A process is disclosed for fluid catalytic cracking of oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds such as glycerol and bio-oil. In the process the oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds are contacted with a fluid cracking catalyst material for a period of less than 3 seconds. In a preferred process a crude-oil derived material, such as VGO, is also contacted with the catalyst.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A process for converting biomass to reaction products, the process comprising:
 (a) contacting biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds with an inorganic material having catalytic properties, wherein the inorganic material includes kaolin and at least one zeolite, wherein the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds comprise cellulose-derived compounds and/or hemicellulose-derived compounds; and 
 (b) converting the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds to reaction products in the presence of the inorganic material, 
 wherein the contact time between the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds and the inorganic material in step (b) is less than 3 seconds. 
 
     
     
       2. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one zeolite includes zeolite-USY, beta-zeolite, ZSM-5, zeolite Y, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       3. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one zeolite includes ZSM-5. 
     
     
       4. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds include compounds produced from solid biomass via at least one process chosen from pyrolysis, liquefaction, and a hydrothermal conversion process. 
     
     
       5. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass-derived hydrocarbon compounds are produced from solid biomass via a pyrolysis reaction. 
     
     
       6. The process of  claim 5 , wherein the biomass-derived hydrocarbon compounds are produced from solid biomass via a pyrolysis reaction, wherein the biomass-derived hydrocarbon compounds comprise hemicelluloses-derived compounds. 
     
     
       7. The process of  claim 6 , wherein the solid biomass is wood. 
     
     
       8. The process of  claim 1 , wherein step (b) is carried out at a reaction temperature ranging from 300° C. to 700° C. 
     
     
       9. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the reaction products include liquid reaction products, gaseous reaction products, or a combination of liquid and gaseous reaction products. 
     
     
       10. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the reaction products include at least one of olefins, aromatics, alkanes, coke, hydrogen gas, or carbon monoxide gas. 
     
     
       11. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the contact time between the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds and the inorganic material in step (b) is less than 1 second. 
     
     
       12. The process of  claim 1 , further including directing the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds into a riser reactor, wherein step (b) includes converting the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds in the presence of the inorganic material to the reaction products in the riser reactor. 
     
     
       13. The process of  claim 1 , wherein the reaction products include a fuel. 
     
     
       14. A process for converting biomass to reaction products, the process comprising:
 (a) contacting biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds with an inorganic material having catalytic properties, wherein the inorganic material includes kaolin and at least one zeolite, wherein the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds comprise cellulose-derived compounds and/or hemicellulose-derived compounds; 
 (b) converting the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds to reaction products in the presence of the inorganic material in a reactor system; and 
 (c) combining the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds and the inorganic material with a crude oil-derived material in the reactor system, 
 wherein step (b) includes converting the biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds to the reaction products in the presence of the inorganic material and the crude oil-derived material. 
 
     
     
       15. The process of  claim 14 , wherein the crude oil-derived material is vacuum gas oil. 
     
     
       16. A process for converting biomass to reaction products, the process comprising:
 (a) introducing solid biomass comprising hemicellulose into a pyrolysis reactor; 
 (b) converting the solid biomass to biomass-derived compounds via pyrolysis in the pyrolysis reactor, wherein the biomass-derived compounds comprise hemicellulose-derived compounds; and 
 (c) converting the biomass-derived compounds in the presence of an inorganic material having catalytic properties to reaction products, wherein the inorganic material includes kaolin and at least one zeolite. 
 
     
     
       17. The process of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one zeolite includes zeolite-USY, beta-zeolite, ZSM-5, zeolite Y, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       18. The process of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one zeolite includes ZSM-5. 
     
     
       19. The process of  claim 16 , wherein step (c) is carried out at a reaction temperature ranging from 300° C. to 700° C. 
     
     
       20. The process of  claim 16 , wherein the reaction products include liquid reaction products, gaseous reaction products, or a combination of liquid and gaseous reaction products. 
     
     
       21. The process of  claim 16 , wherein said pyrolysis reactor comprises a riser reactor and the converting of steps (b) and (c) are both carried out in the riser reactor. 
     
     
       22. The process of  claim 16 , further including contacting the biomass and the inorganic material with a crude oil-derived material in the pyrolysis reactor, wherein steps (b) and (c) are carried out in the presence of the inorganic material and the crude oil-derived material. 
     
     
       23. The process of  claim 22 , wherein the crude oil-derived material is vacuum gas oil. 
     
     
       24. The process of  claim 16  wherein the hydrocarbons contained in the reaction products have a higher effective hydrogen to carbon ratio (H/C elf) than the biomass or biomass-derived compounds. 
     
     
       25. The process of  claim 16 , wherein the biomass-derived compounds comprise cellulose-derived compounds. 
     
     
       26. The process of  claim 16 , wherein step (b) is carried out in the presence of the inorganic material. 
     
     
       27. The process of  claim 16 , wherein the solid biomass is wood.